Destroying Charn
by JM-Anakin-Solo
Summary: A detailed account of the destruction of Charn, which was only briefly mentioned in "The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis


Destroying Charn  
  
By Matthew C. Recker  
  
  
  
  
This is a story about a land that has been forgotten. A story of a land that existed and flourished millennia before our own. The great world of Charn.   
  
There are few alive today that know of the lost world, even fewer that could describe it, and no one that could revisit it. The world was lost to all for all time after the Queen Jadis, the sole inhabitant of the world, abandoned it.   
  
The world she left was not the peaceful, beautiful, and serene world that had once been. Instead, the world was devoid of all life besides the Queen. It was a barren waste where only stone and soil existed. Ruins lined the country, if it could be called such, but other than that there were no signs anyone had once lived there.   
  
If you would have visited this world before it had been lost, you very likely would doubt the greatness of Charn, except for one building. The palace of Charn showed the signs of a great civilization. Grand, seemingly endless, stone stairs scaled the outer side of the palace and led to the great dais, from which the Queen could view her people.   
  
Just inside was an inner courtyard that boasted neither plant nor flowing fountain, but the remnants of such things remained. Broken fountains lined the walls, their pumps and pipes asunder. The floor was dirty and dark, but the delicately placed tiles remain. Though they had been worn down through the years a scant sign of their former beauty remained in their design.   
  
Beyond the courtyard and through a narrow passageway lay the ancient Hall of Kings, and Queens for that matter. This room was home to all the rulers of yester year. They were all lined up in order of reign. If you were to walk down this row of rulers, stopping at each to examine his or her face, you would notice a change as you went on.   
  
Farther down the line, as you neared the more recent rulers, the faces became more cruel and harsh, the beauty never lessened and probably increased, but the demeanor on these faces would leave even the most intrepid adventurer feeling uneasy. The rulers seemed so real that if they were to stand up and begin walking around you would not be so surprised as you might think.   
  
The rulers not withstanding, the only decoration in the room would be the small bell and hammer at the far end. The bell was suspended on a small arch that spanned across the width of a narrow, but tall pedestal. An enchantment had been cast upon the room and the bell and pedestal taunted visitors to test their fate. It was one such visitor succumbing to the dare that finally brought about the end of the entire world.   
  
But that is another tale, and not the point of this story. This story tells how the world of Charn came to see the bitter days before its end.   
  
In those days, the fountains flowed and the tiles sparkled. The sky show bright and the people gladly worked their fingers to the bone in servitude to their rulers.   
  
Queen Jadis ruled her people as possessions. She valued not their lives, nor did she bear their toils. They had been created to serve her own wants and desires and what might be best for them had never occurred to her. You should know that she was not only a queen, but a great witch as well, the likes of which Charn had never seen before.   
  
Charn had a weakness. An ultimate word existed, a deplorable word, that when spoken would destroy all life but he who had uttered it. The kings of yore knew of the existence of such a word, but they sought it not. All future kings and queens were bound by a solemn oath to neither desire nor seek out this word and to keep its very existence secret.   
  
Queen Jadis and long since learned the secret word, and she feared, not, its use. You may have already guessed she was an evil ruler, but she was even more evil as a witch. Years ago she had taken it upon herself to learn the dark magic of Charn and, unlike her predecessors, she feared nothing.   
  
Every night, for many years, she visited the deep inner sanctum of darkness that lay at the center of Charn. Here she all but sold her soul to the dark arts and in return she received all that she could ever desire. She was made a powerful dark witch and the secret, deplorable, word was bestowed upon her.   
  
Her rule had gone unquestioned until the day her sister, Kria, had decided the oppression of their people had lasted long enough. Kria, second in line to the throne, pulled the people together and showed them what they had been missing. She showed them what life could be if only they would help her to overthrow Jadis.   
  
Kria assembled a formidable army and after a quick training she led them in an attack. The war raged on and on. You would be horrified by accounts of the battles so they will be skipped. You just need to know that a stalemate ensued for some time. That is, until the day Kria led her forces on an attack of the capital city.   
  
The last great battle for Charn lasted three very long and very bloody days. However, as the battle waned Kria proved victorious. She proudly marched her army up the long stairs to the palace dais. Jadis was waiting for them at the top.   
  
Kria contemptuously stared her sister down. "You have been defeated!" Then she exclaimed, in a proud and light voice, "Victory!" This she said to her people and they erupted in a shout of joy that shook the very foundation of the palace.   
  
Jadis only smiled, the sort of smile that chills you to the bone. "Yes, victory." Her smile broadened even further, defying all known limits of facial expression. "Mine!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. If the force of the cheers before shook the palace, then hers nearly brought the place to pieces. The people became sullen and turned to Kria for guidance.   
  
But Kria never took her gaze from her sister. Her own smile vanished as Jadis' burned strong. Kria's face bore disbelief and betrayal. As do many people in our world, she still believed that people are mostly good. But, as many people in our world find out, she was wrong. Jadis was prepared to sacrifice all to ensure her own victory.   
  
Jadis' smile never faltered as she spoke a single world.   
  
Now, I cannot utter this word here, because to do so would be to unleash a great evil upon our own world. I am unsure what such an utterance would bring to humankind, but good rarely comes from such ill intended words.   
  
At the exact instance the word had finished being spoken a dark cloud filled the sky, the likes of which hasn't been seen on Earth since biblical times. The world was shrouded in darkness and all plant life began to fade away.   
  
Before her eyes, Jadis watched as thousands perished, including her sister, but her smile remained, unaffected.   
  
A silence you cannot begin to fathom came over the land as the world ceased to live, all that remained was the evil, smiling Jadis. Still smiling she walked inside the palace, past the courtyard, down the narrow passageway, and into the Hall of Kings.   
  
It was then that she placed the enchantment upon the room and seated herself in the chair beside the most recently deceased ruler. Her smile finally faded as she delved into an eternal sleep. It was a sleep that would not be challenged for thousands of years when a young adventurer answered the call of the bell and hammer to reawaken the Queen. But that story has already been told and resides in another book.   
  
END 


End file.
